Has .22 LR Ammo Shortage Increased Air Gun Usage?
Photo courtesy Hard Air Magazine.
Have shortages of .22 LR rimfire ammunition (and high .22LR ammo prices) caused shooters to switch to airguns? Unlike rimfire ammo, pellets are readily available and inexpensive. Moreover, air is free, most airguns can be safely fired indoors, and premium air rifles are surprisingly accurate out to 25m or so. Given those factors, one might think many sportsmen would shift from .22 LR shooting to airgun shooting, at least for plinking and short-range target work. But it looks like there has NOT been a significant exodus from the rimfire ranks. According to a recent survey, 75% percent of shooters have NOT done more air rifle shooting due to shortages of .22 LR rimfire ammo.
Shooter Survey Results
Of more than 4,500 shooters surveyed by ShooterSurvey.com, 40% reported shooting an air rifle in the past 12 months. In that same time span, 33% of those same sportsmen would have purchased more .22 LR ammo had it been available and 17% said they were not able to buy all of the rimfire ammo they wanted. So did those shooters stymied by the shortage opt to shoot air rifles more as a substitute for their rimfire rifles?
Interestingly, 75% of shooters surveyed said that rimfire ammo shortages had no impact on how much they shot air rifles. They would have shot air rifles the same amount. Eighteen percent, however, reported they would have shot air rifles less had they been able to buy more .22 ammo. Only 5% of respondents said they would not have shot air rifles at all had they been able to purchase more rimfire ammo at affordable prices.
“It would appear the recent shortage of .22-caliber ammunition has some impact on increased air rifle use, but maybe not as much as some people would expect. Airguns, it seems, are popular among a portion of today’s shooters on their own merits,” says Rob Southwick, president of Southwick Associates, which designs and conducts the surveys at HunterSurvey.com, ShooterSurvey.com and AnglerSurvey.com.
I got into airguns three years ago, and now I rarely shoot my powder burners, even though I have a very large stash of assorted ammo.
There is a vast difference between having a typical Gamo or Stoeger that’s advertised to have a velocity comparable to rimfires, and owning high-end springers or precharged pneumatics that are slower and much more accurate.
Although pellets may be cheaper, overall airguns have the potential to be more expensive, but also in my mind more satisfying.
How many of those 75% of shooters were BR/position/bullseye shooters?
Take a high end PCP and TCO it against a suppressed 22 capable of producing the same level of accuracy at 50 yards – the difference is less than a case of Eley. And you may not have to spend your time/money driving to shoot.
With proper shot placement a 40 fpe airgun kills most critters just as dead as a 110fpe 22LR within 50 yards. You only need 8-10 fpe for a squirrel, less for a rabbit. Plus you have a lot less worry about where that pellet will end up vs a 22LR.
Past cost and availability of 22lr have stunted the American market’s growth for air guns. With a proper introduction, an excel sheet comparison, and a trip to the range you may have a hard time looking back. Unless you really like the bang and the ear pro.
90+% of my 22lr shooting anymore is with students in a suppressed pistol or rifle beyond 55 yards. I own 2 air rifles capable of sub 1/2 inch groups at 50 yards for .15 to .25 cents less a shot. My 22LRs spend a lot more time in the safe than they used to.